When required to think of someone who makes Israel a better place, I thought immediately of Rav Pinchas Rubenstein. Rav Pinchas works in the Zula in Jerusalem. The Zula is a place that helps teenagers who feel lost and confused. Rav Pinchas, along with the other staff members of the Zula help these children find themselves, and there could not be a better way of making Israel a better place, because these teens will be tomorrow's ministers, mayors and judges. They are the face of this country, and its future! Sometimes you can hear people complaining about the country and the way it runs itself. It is hard to fix a reality when you are in it, but we can set tomorrow's present, by taking care of today's future
Profile- Rav Pinchas Rubenstein
Rav Pinchas Rubenstein was born and raised in Chile, son of the head rabbi of the city, Santiago. His parents lived for 8 years in the Holy Land, and then the Rubenstein's were sent to Chile on a mission from the state: The father of the family had to serve as the Rabbi, Shochet and Mohel of the Jewish community in Santiago. After a year's stay, Rav Pinchas was born, raised and educated through the fifth grade in the Jewish school of Santiago.
"I have no explanation for the reasons I wanted to come to the holy land. I remember that when I was seven years old we received a calendar that had the picture of the Wailing Wall on the cover. I told my parents with child-like innocence: "I want to go there! It doesn't matter that I'm little. Send me to Grandma. What's the problem?" The little boy could not comprehend the complexity of the situation nor its importance, but he knew what he had to do. 5 years later, it happened! Even though his parents had a difficult time letting go of the youngest child they brought up; they knew it was the right thing. Rav Pinchas's parents did come to Israel permanently years later after his wedding; but for the time being, at the age of twelve he had to come to a new country without the support of his father and without a mother's love.
Both sisters of Rav Pinchas came to Israel after finishing high school, and were here to receive him with open arms. His grandmother and uncles
were here for him as well, though his parents were absent.
"I arrived in Israel after Succot. The weather was beautiful, and the country enchanting. I finally got to see the land I awaited seeing so long." The Rav went straight from the airport to Bnei-Brak where he first saw such a large group of Orthodox Jews, and their penguin suits." I saw their clothes, which were the clothes my father wore, as the rabbi of Santiago. So the first thing I asked was how come the children here are rabbis too? Is everybody a rabbi?" Slowly but surely, he began to learn about the life in Israel. Rav Pinchas went to a yeshiva high school in Kfar-Saba for two years, followed by four years in Pardes-Channa Yeshiva. Finally, his studies in Mercaz-Harav, after Pardes-Channa, instilled in him the value of loving all of Israel, most thoroughly, and it may be that this is what influenced him and instilled in him the principles he would work with in the future.
Even though Rav Pinchas adjusted to life in Israel, there were things that shocked him. One of them was the ill-treatment Sephardic people received from Ashkenazim. When he saw how a Jew dissimilar to another in thought or culture was treated by him- he was forced to face a harsh reality. " I thought that finally here in Israel everyone would get along because everyone is Jewish. Unfortunately, I learned about the harsh truth far too fast".
Another surprise that awaited the Rav Pinchas here in the holy land was the complete separation between the religious and the non-religious Jews. "The definition "religious" or "non-religious" didn't exist in the world of Rav Pinchas. "My father said that every Jew is welcome in a synagogue. " The fact that there were groups was always felt here in the country. In Chile there was something that united all Jews. Even the relations among the Jews and the gentiles were not unpleasant… So why does it have to be different amongst Jews?
In addition to the ability to accept differences, which the Rav did posses, His desire to help others has also played an important part in building the giving person that is him. "In fourth grade, we were asked to make something for Mother's Day at school. One of my friends- an orphan- came to me than and asked to speak with me about his mother and her passing. I was only 10. it was like BOOM! Why me? But that was the beginning of a desire to help that lasted until today. I guess that is what G-d wanted me to do…"
It may very well be, that Rav Pinchas's ideals were influenced by the ability to accept and contain, which was felt at home naturally, with no need to preach. His studies at Mercaz-Harav, his meetings with people, his inner intuition to help those in need- all helped build the Rav's magnificent being.
For the last seven years, Rav Pinchas has worked in the Zula in Jerusalem. The Zula is a place to which hundreds of young teenagers around the age of 17, come in order to be helped in all sorts of complex situations. The Children are mostly from religious homes and dislike that fact. These teens' experiences are not easy to bear, but also a child that gives up on adult's care needs help. And he just might find it at the Zula- where the conversation between a 20 year old counselor and a child, might achieve what the steady appointments with a social worker did not. It is a welcoming place teens want to go to that is not a pub or a club. A place of peace, of love and place of respect.
Seven years ago Rav Pinchas decided that he wants to do work in the Zula. What happened seven years ago, you ask? Back then, the Rav taught at a yeshiva in Jerusalem. There was a non religious man with a braid that lived near the Rav. He would come to pray, eat and sometimes even study at the yeshiva where he met Rav Pinchas. This man had returned to the religion, and through out the process came in contact with the Zula. From the moment he set foot in the Zula, he could not stop urging the Rav Pinchas that he must come see this place of miracles! But the Rav, so busy with his work at the yeshiva, was not even interested enough to ask what the Zula is.
When the Rav stopped his work at the yeshiva he agreed to come to visit, and he found himself shocked to the core. 80 or 100 teens surrounded him in this little place: most came from a religious home, yet found themselves in situations that seemed to have nothing to do with religion, among them Drugs, alcohol and prostitution- the Rav was horrified. "The first thing they asked me was if I am a social worker. I told them I was from the secret service. And they laughed. The boundaries fell quickly and we formed a connection".
At four am, when the Rav returned home, he could not sleep. Too many people, sights and events were running through his head, giving him no peace. When he finally fell in to a slumber, the strangest dream happened upon him. Rav Pinchas dreamt his whole day. He dreamt he went to the Zula, came back, could not sleep- only this time he decided that if he couldn't sleep, he might as well go back. Someone invisible drove him, but not to where the Zula was then, but to where it is today, near Nachalat-Shiva. When he entered a great light hit him, which was in total contrast to the dimly lighted room he visited only a few hours previously. Even though he knew he was in the Zula, he saw before him not drugged or drunken children, but Rabbis. Pure and holy Rabbis sitting and talking in the room.
When the Rav awoke, he had his decision made. He was going back to the Zula. "If that is the Zula, I am going back, and that is the Zula for me until today. Each child there is a pure and holy soul of great light. You deal there with the spirits of angels." The Rav never found himself regretting entering the field, yet Rav Pinchas explains that there are moments in which the person finds himself weakening, and that
is the moment when you feel you did nothing for a teen, when you feel you might have hurt a teen or when you find that the teen you were so confident in, the child you were sure was going home, the child you were convinced would get out of his situation- only held on for two weeks. However, no one should help based only on the condition that they succeed. Even the mere fact that the children see the staff living happily with love- their mere presence helps. Some children come from families lacking love, so even that can be of aid- simply loving.
With the hard moments, come the magnificent, and the Rav explains joyfully that the most beautiful moments are those when a child you worked with gets married. That is the moment that ensures that the child has found himself, and made it out of the mess he was in: "When you see a child that was in the most impure of situations, is now studying in a yeshiva, married to a pure- spirited girl running a holy Jewish home- you know the child has achieved what he set out to do: He has found himself."
Despite the complete dedication to the Zula and his work, the Rav Pinchas feels that his family is one of the sources that give him power, and he tries to maintain a balance between work and family. "I need a source to draw power from, to hear six stories when each is more horrid then the next. Even if all one cares about is the work, he would need to find a place to draw power from to help the children and it is the family that provides that. I can receive a text message from my son saying: way to go Dad! The work you do is sacred!" This gives Rav Pinchas the power to go on.
When asked of the future, Rav Pinchas explains that his job with the children will never be over, and he doesn't want to stop it. However, the work with the children is not the only work that the Rav feels he must progress towards. Through lectures and lessons, thought and advising, the staff of the Zula must find ways to delve into the source of the problem- Not providing enough love for a child to in order to maintain the path of G-d, and find a way to deal with its root. They need to help the parents and the schools avoid situations in which they drive children to unhealthy realities. Rav Pinchas was forced to deal with people whose opinions opposed his own. In the past there was an almost complete denial of the alarming figures and shocking stories that people like the Rav presented to educators, but today the educational institutions acknowledge the phenomenon and try to prevent it. Perhaps the change took place as a result of the Rav's efforts to increase awareness, or it could be because
the harsh reality has taken a turn for the worst. Now members of the Zula frequently receive invitations, to give lectures and lessons, to pupils and teachers as one.
The utter separation between a man and his deeds is one of Rav Pinchas's most basic beliefs. If one wishes for the change of a man's actions, pray for the action's metamorphosis, not to change the man. Alternatively, one can talk about how pure the man is, and he will see, that his bad deeds are not becoming to a man as pure as he.
For the serene future of the world and its inhabitants Rav Pinchas carries a prayer and hopes that humanity will realize that a person is not only mind but heart too. Instilling love in the hearts of men must be encouraged, for we live in a cold, western world. "In the Zula we try to discover what real love is, and achieve it. Love is the connection of a being to himself, his surroundings and his ability to contain the other, to listen and comprehend. It's all about love!"
Background Research
- Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook
While interviewing Rav Pinchas Rubenstein, one can't help but notice the many references he makes to the great Rav Kook, and his wise words. Rav Pinchas studied in the yeshiva that Rav Kook founded- Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, and he said that it was one of the places that taught him about loving all of Israel. "The love of all beings precedes everything else.
Afterwards comes the love of all humanity.
After that comes the love of the people of Israel, who encompass everything, for it is the people of Israel who will one day rectify all creation.
All these types of love express themselves in activity: loving others to do good for them and to improve them.
But higher than all these is the love of God. This is love, complete in itself, which fills the heart with the most exalted contentment." Rav Kook, Musar Avichah, Ahavah II After learning a little more about the Rav Kook himself, it is not difficult to see how he managed to inspire Rav Pinchas and many more people. It is not surprising because you would expect that such a great man shall scatter seeds of love behind him. These seeds of love and truth created astounding people- all inspired by the remarkable Rav Kook.
Abraham Yitzchak Kook lived between the years1865–1935. Born in Latvia, he was the oldest of eight children. His father, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Hacohen Kook was a student of the Volozhin Yeshiva. Surprisingly, his grandfather was a member of the Kapust dynasty of the Hassidic movement even though the Volozhin yeshiva opposed the Chasidut.
While still a child, Rav Kook gained a reputation as a prodigy and a top student. He entered the Volozhin Yeshiva in 1884 at the age of 18, where he became close to the rosh yeshiva, Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin. Even though he stayed at the yeshiva for only a year and a half, he studied 18 hours a day, thirsty for the light of Torah.
"Our master [Rav Kook] does not deal with the exegesis or the uncovering of hidden meanings in verses. He rarely takes them out of their simple peshat meaning. Nonetheless, they are revealed to the reader as tremendous novelties. The innovation here is not in the elucidation of the verse per se, but in the light that he pours over them." Rabbi Hillel Zeitlin, Sifran shel Yechidim, p. 237
In 1886, Rav Kook married Batsheva and in 1887, at the age of 23, Rav Kook entered his first position as a Rav in Lithuania. In 1888, his wife died, and his father-in-law convinced him to marry her cousin, Raize-Rivka. He agreed and progressed in the world of Torah as time passed. In 1895 Kook became the Rav of Bausk. Developing his world of Torah, the Rav did not neglect his world of ideals. He published three articles which expressed the philosophy which he developed during his visits to Israel and his observation of the settlers of that time.
In 1904, Rav Kook moved to Israel in order to become the head Rav of the city Yaffo and the nearby settlements. The outbreak of the First World War in the year 1914 caught Rav Kook in Europe, and he was forced to remain unwillingly in London and Switzerland for the remainder of the war. Upon his return to the holy land, he was appointed the Ashkenazi Rav of Jerusalem, and soon after, he became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine in 1921.
Rav Kook founded a yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav Kook in Jerusalem in 1924. More information about the yeshiva and its activities are available on the Merkaz Harav internet site.
An attack occurred on the 6th of March 2008, in which a Palestinian shot students at the yeshiva. The horrifying incident took place on the first evening of Adar, and a moment that was meant to be joyful and lit with gaity was put out with the terrible massacre. The attack began at 8:36 p.m and ended about 14 minutes later, but even that short period of time changed the lives of 20 families beyond recognition. Eight students and the perpetrator were killed and eleven more were wounded, five of them in serious to critical condition. The names of the deceased are Segev Pniel Avihail, Neria Cohen, Avraham David Moses, Yehonatan Yitzhak Eldar, Ro'i Roth, Yohai Lipshitz, Yonadav Chaim Hirshfeld. All were in their teen years except for Doron Mahareta who was 26. To read more about the Merkaz Harrav massacare click here.
According to Simcha Raz, Rav Kook was a master of Halakha in the strictest sense, while at the same time possessing an unusual openness to new ideas. This drew many religious and non-religious people to him, but also led to widespread misunderstanding of his ideas. He wrote outstandingly on both Halakha and Jewish thought, and his books continued to influence many even after his death in Jerusalem in 1935.
Rav Kook built bridges of communication and political alliances between the various Jewish sectors, including the secular Jewish Zionist leadership, the Religious Zionists, and more traditional non-Zionist Orthodox Jews. He believed that the modern movement had significance and that the Zionists were agents in a heavenly plan to bring about the redemption of all Israel. Even anti-religious Zionist pioneers were a part of a grand Divine process whereby the land and people of Israel were finally being redeemed from the 2,000-year exile they were sent to with the destruction of the Holy Temple. According to Rav Kook, Jews who sacrificed themselves for the cause of building up the physical land, as laying the base for the ultimate spiritual work, could not be evil or mistreated. However, most religious leaders of the time disagreed with him and even made violent attempts to harm him and his work.
His empathy towards the anti-religious elements aroused the suspicions of most orthodox movements. He once tried to explain his position and remarked that he was fully capable of rejecting wrong ideas, but since there were enough rejecters, he was fulfilling the role of embracer. However, Rav Kook was critical of the secularists on certain occasions when they went "too far" in desecrating the Torah, for instance, by not observing the Sabbath or kosher laws. Rav Kook also opposed the secular spirit of the Hatikvah anthem, and penned another anthem with a more religious theme entitled Haemunah. Even the fact that borders did exist in the embracing world of the Rav Kook did not seem to ease the violence or solve the impatience toward him from the orthodox sector. It is told that on a certain Lag Baomer there were students of one of the Rav Kook's opponents that made a live-sized doll in the form of the Rav, and they tossed it into the scorching bitterness of the flame.
While Rav Kook is exalted as one of the most important Rabbis in Religious Zionism, he was close to a national orthodox. There are several quotes in which Rav Kook is quite critical of the more modern-orthodox Religious Zionists, the Mizrachi movement, whom he saw as naïve for trying to combine Judaism with Zionism in such a drastic way. Rav Kook never feared criticizing his peers, religious and secular, as well as the increasingly growing amount of inhabitants living in the Holy Land, whose way of life he characterized as being similar to the negative and abnormal conditions of the Jewish exile. Rav Kook was interested in outreach and cooperation between different groups and types of Jews, and saw the good in each sector as well as the bad. He desired Jewish unity. Rav Kook's willingness to engage in joint-projects with the Zionist leadership didn't mean he was completely like the Zionist leaders. Rav Kook's motivations were purely based on Jewish law and Biblical prophecy. His sympathy towards the Zionist movement can be seen as a major stepping-stone to the Religious Zionist movement, gaining momentum after his death.
Founded in 1933, the settlement Kfar Haroeh, was named after Rav Kook: "Haroeh" is an acronym for "HaRav Avraham Hacohen". His son, Rav Tzvi Kook, who was also his greatest student, took over teaching duties at Mercaz HaRav after the Rav's death, and dedicated his life to supporting and teaching his father's philosophy. Rav Kook's writings and philosophy eventually gave birth to the Religious Zionist movement which is today led by rabbis who studied under Rav Kook's son at Mercaz Harav. Today this movement is much bigger than Rav Kook could ever have hoped for.
Literary Connection
TO One in Paradise
Edgar Allan Poe
Thou wast all that to me, love,
For which my soul did pine-
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.
Ah, dream too bright to last!
Ah, starry Hope! that didst arise
But to be overcast!
A voice from out the Future cries,
"On! on!"- but o'er the Past
(Dim gulf!) my spirit hovering lies
Mute, motionless, aghast!
For, alas! alas! me
The light of Life is o'er!
"No more- no more- no more-"
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To the sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree
Or the stricken eagle soar!
And all my days are trances,
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy grey eye glances,
And where thy footstep gleams-
In what ethereal dances,
By what eternal streams.
Even a single swift glance at Edgar Allan Poe's poem: "To One in Paradise", is enough to bring one to shed a tear. The beauty of the earth is described as astounding. A beauty that can not be surpassed. A beauty that belongs completely to the writer: "And all the flowers were mine". But when one sees the blinding beauty, he must cry, for he can not forget the rules of which the world consists- nothing, not even the most majestic existence is meant to last, for eventually "dreams are to bright to last". A reality as harsh as this one can plant the fear of ambition in a young heart, and that fear is what drove me to include this poem in my project; to observe fear and hardships in Israel, and to find tools that might aid the heart to eliminate the terror of mortality and develop the skills to preserve it. Edgar Allan Poe describes in his poem the beauty of a reality that was taken away from him. He writes of the flowers, the greens and the sea and ironically presents his ownership of them, even though we know that just a verse later, these gifts will be placed out of his reach. Poe writes of a dyeing dream. Of the gems all taken from this earth; leaving him alone and cast under the spell of a trance, explaining that nothing in this world has the ability to become eternal. This is the reality the poem forces us to apply on our own lives- even the dearest possessions of our hearts are not ours to keep, for eventually even nature is proven mortal: "The seas incapable of flowing, "The trees burnt by the blast of the lightning, "The soar of the eagles muted"- all these examples presented in the poem point out the stupidity of men claiming ownership of possessions, for even everlasting nature- is not everlasting at all. Reading the poem, my own life is reflected before my eyes. My family, my friends, my home and my land- They will all be gone someday, but unlike Poe, I hold on to a delicate strand of hope. I didn't claim that mortality is a tragic, given situation, nor did I attempt to presume that it is a ridicules falsem for everything shall be gone someday, but the comprehension that man is the one influencing the duration of the existence of his possessions could not be avoided either.
It is true that Edgar Allan Poe chose to present situations of loss in which man has no room to interfere, but if all is meant to be taken away from us, then the statement includes possessions that the hands of men may grasp longer than expected. If one accepts that man can sustain belongings of his on this earth, regardless to the fact that someday he will lose the fight and will have to give them up- then the knowledge places a heavy responsibility on man's weary shoulders: Take care of what you hold, for someday you will no longer have access to the belongings you love, and you will be the one that will have to determine how you could hold on to the jewels this life has to offer a little longer.
But how? How can one keep that of which is condemned to be eliminated? How can one preserve what G-d has decided to remove from our reach? It is inevitable that every aspect of life that we observe shall require its own individual treatment, and one of the things I see worthy of cherishing in my life is my nation, the Jewish people and my dear land- Israel? If I would search for a tool that could enable the eternal existence of these cherished valuables- the tool would be love.
If Jews recognized the love they must hold for one another then the Jews will be able to form a mighty unity that will provide love and a place for every Jew on this good earth. If all Jewish people would love the very land our ancestors trailed upon, spreading the truth to the world- If Jews shall crave the very earth they live on, holding on to it and never letting it go then their love will dictate that Israel is not a means but a destination- a goal to be preserved. This shall enable us to maintain the ownership of the Holy Land.
If all Jews understand that the love of the land and the love for one another are commitments we are obligated to fulfill- than we might find ourselves resurrecting ideas that were sentenced to cease. Unfortunately, if we refuse to rekindle the love that finds little room in our frozen hearts, than we might find ourselves living within a nightmare that Edgar Allan Poe presents before us; An existence enslaved to one single reality: "No more, no more, no more".
Creative Connection
In my creative part I decided to express my feelings toward Israel in art. I designed a shirt that gives an idea of my prayers for this country and the decision to use a shirt as the tool to express the idea came because in many ways, shapes and forms, it is a very Israeli thing to do: express an idea or a certain belief through shirts and tops.
I found, reflecting on my project and my own feelings, that in many ways I agree with Rav Pinchas about his view of Israel. Love is the key. Israel has never had it easy and it would seem that its state only gets more difficult as time goes by. It is simple to see that unless we fight for our country, we might lose it and condemn ourselves to a life we have been trying to avoid. A life some Jews still lead. A life that has threatened Jews for over two thousand years. A life without a country, submitted to the anti-Semitic rule of the land we sit on at the time.
Rav Pinchas found love as a tool to keep us together. To unite us and give us power. I see it as a tool to help us maintain and keep the gift we got: the land of Israel. The hand on the shirt expresses the love that is required in order to hold on to our country, and the quote I took from Edgar Allan Poe's poem while transforming the original meaning of the sentence expresses the duty we have toward our country. The duty to hold on to the land. Edgar Allan Poe asked: "Did it all arrive to be overcast?" In my creative part I decided to answer him: No. It didn't arrive to be overcast.
Reflection
When we first got the project I was sure it is just another paper, due on a certain date to a certain teacher and all that is going to be done shall remain on a page before my eyes, read swiftly without a second glance. I never contemplated the project will affect me the way it did. I learned in the process about things I never knew before. I thought of ideas that were executed only in my imagination before this assignment. I was acquainted more closely with concepts I never saw myself get near, and all these experiences have left their marks behind.
Meeting Rav Pinchas gave me the opportunity to know a man who gives of himself freely to all in need because he believes in aiding others. He believes in loving them and in helping them love themselves and others. Rav Pinchas showed me that it is possible to love anyone, no matter how hopelessly disgusting their case may be. He told me about the importance of love and after reviewing the place where he learned these ideas and learning about the man that gave life to these morals upon earth, it was simple to fall in love with the place that teaches people how to find something good in everyone around you.
Learning about Rav Kook showed me how many struggles he went through in order to live his ideas and how important it was to him. Learning about Merkaz Harav showed me how great the power of love is. How necessary it is in order to lead a healthy religious life and how it gives you power to go through hard times that seem to weaken us, if it weren't for the love that makes theses hard times bring us together rather than tear us apart.
After learning about why to love and how to love, I observed Edgar Allan Poe's poem: "To One In Paradise" and learned of what will happen if we let the emotion and affection for others out of our lives. If we let the love go, we shall watch how everything disappears after it; how we might lose our land. Love is the power that might aid us to hold on to Israel regardless to whatever may come.
I expressed my ideas and agreement with the concepts presented in this project through the creative part of this assignment and here I express my surprise at the transformation I feel I have gone through while writing this paper and acquainting myself with these new ideas. I feel I have learned more about love and its importance. About how to achieve it and why. When we first got this project I was sure it is just another paper, due on a certain date to a certain teacher and all that is going to be done shall remain on a page before my eyes. I never contemplated that all that will be done will remain burned into the pages of my soul.
Mirsky, Yehudah, An Intellectual and Spiritual Biography of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhaq Ha-Cohen Kook from 1865 to 1904, Published by Harvard University, 2007 (Rav Kook Paper)
Raz, Simcha , Angel Among Men: Impressions from the Life of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, Published by Urim Publications 2003 (Rav Kook Paper)
Table of Contents
Rationale
When required to think of someone who makes Israel a better place, I thought immediately of Rav Pinchas Rubenstein. Rav Pinchas works in the Zula in Jerusalem. The Zula is a place that helps teenagers who feel lost and confused. Rav Pinchas, along with the other staff members of the Zula help these children find themselves, and there could not be a better way of making Israel a better place, because these teens will be tomorrow's ministers, mayors and judges. They are the face of this country, and its future! Sometimes you can hear people complaining about the country and the way it runs itself. It is hard to fix a reality when you are in it, but we can set tomorrow's present, by taking care of today's future
Profile- Rav Pinchas Rubenstein
Rav Pinchas Rubenstein was born and raised in Chile, son of the head rabbi of the city, Santiago. His parents lived for 8 years in the Holy Land, and then the Rubenstein's were sent to Chile on a mission from the state: The father of the family had to serve as the Rabbi, Shochet and Mohel of the Jewish community in Santiago. After a year's stay, Rav Pinchas was born, raised and educated through the fifth grade in the Jewish school of Santiago.
"I have no explanation for the reasons I wanted to come to the holy land. I remember that when I was seven years old we received a calendar that had the picture of the Wailing Wall on the cover. I told my parents with child-like innocence: "I want to go there! It doesn't matter that I'm little. Send me to Grandma. What's the problem?" The little boy could not comprehend the complexity of the situation nor its importance, but he knew what he had to do. 5 years later, it happened! Even though his parents had a difficult time letting go of the youngest child they brought up; they knew it was the right thing. Rav Pinchas's parents did come to Israel permanently years later after his wedding; but for the time being, at the age of twelve he had to come to a new country without the support of his father and without a mother's love.
Both sisters of Rav Pinchas came to Israel after finishing high school, and were here to receive him with open arms. His grandmother and uncles
were here for him as well, though his parents were absent.
Even though Rav Pinchas adjusted to life in Israel, there were things that shocked him. One of them was the ill-treatment Sephardic people received from Ashkenazim. When he saw how a Jew dissimilar to another in thought or culture was treated by him- he was forced to face a harsh reality. " I thought that finally here in Israel everyone would get along because everyone is Jewish. Unfortunately, I learned about the harsh truth far too fast".
Another surprise that awaited the Rav Pinchas here in the holy land was the complete separation between the religious and the non-religious Jews. "The definition "religious" or "non-religious" didn't exist in the world of Rav Pinchas. "My father said that every Jew is welcome in a synagogue. " The fact that there were groups was always felt here in the country. In Chile there was something that united all Jews. Even the relations among the Jews and the gentiles were not unpleasant… So why does it have to be different amongst Jews?
In addition to the ability to accept differences, which the Rav did posses, His desire to help others has also played an important part in building the giving person that is him. "In fourth grade, we were asked to make something for Mother's Day at school. One of my friends- an orphan- came to me than and asked to speak with me about his mother and her passing. I was only 10. it was like BOOM! Why me? But that was the beginning of a desire to help that lasted until today. I guess that is what G-d wanted me to do…"
It may very well be, that Rav Pinchas's ideals were influenced by the ability to accept and contain, which was felt at home naturally, with no need to preach. His studies at Mercaz-Harav, his meetings with people, his inner intuition to help those in need- all helped build the Rav's magnificent being.
For the last seven years, Rav Pinchas has worked in the Zula in Jerusalem. The Zula is a place to which hundreds of young teenagers around the age of 17, come in order to be helped in all sorts of complex situations. The Children are mostly from religious homes and dislike that fact.
These teens' experiences are not easy to bear, but also a child that gives up on adult's care needs help. And he just might find it at the Zula- where the conversation between a 20 year old counselor and a child, might achieve what the
steady appointments with a social worker did not. It is a welcoming place teens want to go to that is not a pub or a club. A place of peace, of love and place of respect.
Seven years ago Rav Pinchas decided that he wants to do work in the Zula. What happened seven years ago, you ask? Back then, the Rav taught at a yeshiva in Jerusalem. There was a non religious man with a braid that lived near the Rav. He would come to pray, eat and sometimes even study at the yeshiva where he met Rav Pinchas. This man had returned to the religion, and through out the process came in contact with the Zula. From the moment he set foot in the Zula, he could not stop urging the Rav Pinchas that he must come see this place of miracles! But the Rav, so busy with his work at the yeshiva, was not even interested enough to ask what the Zula is.
When the Rav stopped his work at the yeshiva he agreed to come to visit, and he found himself shocked to the core. 80 or 100 teens surrounded him in this little place: most came from a religious home, yet found themselves in situations that seemed to have nothing to do with religion, among them Drugs, alcohol and prostitution- the Rav was horrified. "The first thing they asked me was if I am a social worker. I told them I was from the secret service. And they laughed. The boundaries fell quickly and we formed a connection".
At four am, when the Rav returned home, he could not sleep. Too many people, sights and events were running through his head, giving him no peace. When he finally fell in to a slumber, the strangest dream happened upon him. Rav Pinchas dreamt his whole day. He dreamt he went to the Zula, came back, could not sleep- only this time he decided that if he couldn't sleep, he might as well go back. Someone invisible drove him, but not to where the Zula was then, but to where it is today, near Nachalat-Shiva. When he entered a great light hit him, which was in total contrast to the dimly lighted room he visited only a few hours previously. Even though he knew he was in the Zula, he saw before him not drugged or drunken children, but Rabbis. Pure and holy Rabbis sitting and talking in the room.
When the Rav awoke, he had his decision made. He was going back to the Zula. "If that is the Zula, I am going back, and that is the Zula for me until today. Each child there is a pure and holy soul of great light. You deal there with the spirits of angels."
The Rav never found himself regretting entering the field, yet Rav Pinchas explains that there are moments in which the person finds himself weakening, and that
is the moment when you feel you did nothing for a teen, when you feel you might have hurt a teen or when you find that the teen you were so confident in, the child you were sure was going home, the child you were convinced would get out of his situation- only held on for two weeks. However, no one should help based only on the condition that they succeed. Even the mere fact that the children see the staff living happily with love- their mere presence helps. Some children come from families lacking love, so even that can be of aid- simply loving.
With the hard moments, come the magnificent, and the Rav explains joyfully that the most beautiful moments are those when a child you worked with gets married. That is the moment that ensures that the child has found himself, and made it out of the mess he was in: "When you see a child that was in the most impure of situations, is now studying in a yeshiva, married to a pure- spirited girl running a holy Jewish home- you know the child has achieved what he set out to do: He has found himself."
Despite the complete dedication to the Zula and his work, the Rav Pinchas feels that his family is one of the sources that give him power, and he tries to maintain a balance between work and family. "I need a source to draw power from, to hear six stories when each is more horrid then the next. Even if all one cares about is the work, he would need to find a place to draw power from to help the children and it is the family that provides that. I can receive a text message from my son saying: way to go Dad! The work you do is sacred!" This gives Rav Pinchas the power to go on.
When asked of the future, Rav Pinchas explains that his job with the children will never be over, and he doesn't want to stop it. However, the work with the children is not the only work that the Rav feels he must progress towards. Through lectures and lessons, thought and advising, the staff of the Zula must find ways to delve into the source of the problem- Not providing enough love for a child to in order to maintain the path of G-d, and find a way to deal with its root. They need to help the parents and the schools avoid situations in which they drive children to unhealthy realities.
Rav Pinchas was forced to deal with people whose opinions opposed his own. In the past there was an almost complete denial of the alarming figures and shocking stories that people like the Rav presented to educators, but today the educational institutions acknowledge the phenomenon and try to prevent it. Perhaps the change took place as a result of the Rav's efforts to increase awareness, or it could be because
the harsh reality has taken a turn for the worst. Now members of the Zula frequently receive invitations, to give lectures and lessons, to pupils and teachers as one.
The utter separation between a man and his deeds is one of Rav Pinchas's most basic beliefs. If one wishes for the change of a man's actions, pray for the action's metamorphosis, not to change the man. Alternatively, one can talk about how pure the man is, and he will see, that his bad deeds are not becoming to a man as pure as he.
For the serene future of the world and its inhabitants Rav Pinchas carries a prayer and hopes that humanity will realize that a person is not only mind but heart too. Instilling love in the hearts of men must be encouraged, for we live in a cold, western world. "In the Zula we try to discover what real love is, and achieve it. Love is the connection of a being to himself, his surroundings and his ability to contain the other, to listen and comprehend. It's all about love!"
Background Research
- Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen KookWhile interviewing Rav Pinchas Rubenstein, one can't help but notice the many references he makes to the great Rav Kook, and his wise words. Rav Pinchas studied in the yeshiva that Rav Kook founded- Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, and he said that it was one of the places that taught him about loving all of Israel.
"The love of all beings precedes everything else.
Afterwards comes the love of all humanity.
After that comes the love of the people of Israel, who encompass everything, for it is the people of Israel who will one day rectify all creation.
All these types of love express themselves in activity: loving others to do good for them and to improve them.
But higher than all these is the love of God. This is love, complete in itself, which fills the heart with the most exalted contentment."
Rav Kook, Musar Avichah, Ahavah II
After learning a little more about the Rav Kook himself, it is not difficult to see how he managed to inspire Rav Pinchas and many more people. It is not surprising because you would expect that such a great man shall scatter seeds of love behind him. These seeds of love and truth created astounding people- all inspired by the remarkable Rav Kook.
Abraham Yitzchak Kook lived between the years1865–1935. Born in Latvia, he was the oldest of eight children. His father, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Hacohen Kook was a student of the Volozhin Yeshiva. Surprisingly, his grandfather was a member of the Kapust dynasty of the Hassidic movement even though the Volozhin yeshiva opposed the Chasidut.
While still a child, Rav Kook gained a reputation as a prodigy and a top student. He entered the Volozhin Yeshiva in 1884 at the age of 18, where he became close to the rosh yeshiva, Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin. Even though he stayed at the yeshiva for only a year and a half, he studied 18 hours a day, thirsty for the light of Torah.
"Our master [Rav Kook] does not deal with the exegesis or the uncovering of hidden meanings in verses. He rarely takes them out of their simple peshat meaning. Nonetheless, they are revealed to the reader as tremendous novelties. The innovation here is not in the elucidation of the verse per se, but in the light that he pours over them."
Rabbi Hillel Zeitlin, Sifran shel Yechidim, p. 237
In 1886, Rav Kook married Batsheva and in 1887, at the age of 23, Rav Kook entered his first position as a Rav in Lithuania. In 1888, his wife died, and his father-in-law convinced him to marry her cousin, Raize-Rivka. He agreed and progressed in the world of Torah as time passed. In 1895 Kook became the Rav of Bausk. Developing his world of Torah, the Rav did not neglect his world of ideals. He published three articles which expressed the philosophy which he developed during his visits to Israel and his observation of the settlers of that time.
In 1904, Rav Kook moved to Israel in order to become the head Rav of the city Yaffo and the nearby settlements. The outbreak of the First World War in the year 1914 caught Rav Kook in Europe, and he was forced to remain unwillingly in London and Switzerland for the remainder of the war. Upon his return to the holy land, he was appointed the Ashkenazi Rav of Jerusalem, and soon after, he became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine in 1921.
Rav Kook founded a yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav Kook in Jerusalem in 1924. More information about the yeshiva and its activities are available on the Merkaz Harav internet site.
An attack occurred on the 6th of March 2008, in which a Palestinian shot students at the yeshiva. The horrifying incident took place on the first evening of Adar, and a moment that was meant to be joyful and lit with gaity was put out with the terrible massacre. The attack began at 8:36 p.m and ended about 14 minutes later, but even that short period of time changed the lives of 20 families beyond recognition. Eight students and the perpetrator were killed and eleven more were wounded, five of them in serious to critical condition.
The names of the deceased are Segev Pniel Avihail, Neria Cohen, Avraham David Moses, Yehonatan Yitzhak Eldar, Ro'i Roth, Yohai Lipshitz, Yonadav Chaim Hirshfeld. All were in their teen years except for Doron Mahareta who was 26. To read more about the Merkaz Harrav massacare click here.
According to Simcha Raz, Rav Kook was a master of Halakha in the strictest sense, while at the same time possessing an unusual openness to new ideas. This drew many religious and non-religious people to him, but also led to widespread misunderstanding of his ideas. He wrote outstandingly on both Halakha and Jewish thought, and his books continued to influence many even after his death in Jerusalem in 1935.
Rav Kook built bridges of communication and political alliances between the various Jewish sectors, including the secular Jewish Zionist leadership, the Religious Zionists, and more traditional non-Zionist Orthodox Jews. He believed that the modern movement had significance and that the Zionists were agents in a heavenly plan to bring about the redemption of all Israel. Even anti-religious Zionist pioneers were a part of a grand Divine process whereby the land and people of Israel were finally being redeemed from the 2,000-year exile they were sent to with the destruction of the Holy Temple. According to Rav Kook, Jews who sacrificed themselves for the cause of building up the physical land, as laying the base for the ultimate spiritual work, could not be evil or mistreated. However, most religious leaders of the time disagreed with him and even made violent attempts to harm him and his work.
His empathy towards the anti-religious elements aroused the suspicions of most orthodox movements. He once tried to explain his position and remarked that he was fully capable of rejecting wrong ideas, but since there were enough rejecters, he was fulfilling the role of embracer. However, Rav Kook was critical of the secularists on certain occasions when they went "too far" in desecrating the Torah, for instance, by not observing the Sabbath or kosher laws. Rav Kook also opposed the secular spirit of the Hatikvah anthem, and penned another anthem with a more religious theme entitled Haemunah. Even the fact that borders did exist in the embracing world of the Rav Kook did not seem to ease the violence or solve the impatience toward him from the orthodox sector. It is told that on a certain Lag Baomer there were students of one of the Rav Kook's opponents that made a live-sized doll in the form of the Rav, and they tossed it into the scorching bitterness of the flame.
While Rav Kook is exalted as one of the most important Rabbis in Religious Zionism, he was close to a national orthodox. There are several quotes in which Rav Kook is quite critical of the more modern-orthodox Religious Zionists, the Mizrachi movement, whom he saw as naïve for trying to combine Judaism with Zionism in such a drastic way. Rav Kook never feared criticizing his peers, religious and secular, as well as the increasingly growing amount of inhabitants living in the Holy Land, whose way of life he characterized as being similar to the negative and abnormal conditions of the Jewish exile. Rav Kook was interested in outreach and cooperation between different groups and types of Jews, and saw the good in each sector as well as the bad. He desired Jewish unity. Rav Kook's willingness to engage in joint-projects with the Zionist leadership didn't mean he was completely like the Zionist leaders. Rav Kook's motivations were purely based on Jewish law and Biblical prophecy. His sympathy towards the Zionist movement can be seen as a major stepping-stone to the Religious Zionist movement, gaining momentum after his death.
Founded in 1933, the settlement Kfar Haroeh, was named after Rav Kook: "Haroeh" is an acronym for "HaRav Avraham Hacohen". His son, Rav Tzvi Kook, who was also his greatest student, took over teaching duties at Mercaz HaRav after the Rav's death, and dedicated his life to supporting and teaching his father's philosophy. Rav Kook's writings and philosophy eventually gave birth to the Religious Zionist movement which is today led by rabbis who studied under Rav Kook's son at Mercaz Harav. Today this movement is much bigger than Rav Kook could ever have hoped for.
Literary Connection
TO One in Paradise
Edgar Allan Poe
Thou wast all that to me, love,
For which my soul did pine-
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.
Ah, dream too bright to last!
Ah, starry Hope! that didst arise
But to be overcast!
A voice from out the Future cries,
"On! on!"- but o'er the Past
(Dim gulf!) my spirit hovering lies
Mute, motionless, aghast!
For, alas! alas! me
The light of Life is o'er!
"No more- no more- no more-"
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To the sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree
Or the stricken eagle soar!
And all my days are trances,
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy grey eye glances,
And where thy footstep gleams-
In what ethereal dances,
By what eternal streams.
Even a single swift glance at Edgar Allan Poe's poem: "To One in Paradise", is enough to bring one to shed a tear. The beauty of the earth is described as astounding. A beauty that can not be surpassed. A beauty that belongs completely to the writer: "And all the flowers were mine". But when one sees the blinding beauty, he must cry, for he can not forget the rules of which the world consists- nothing, not even the most majestic existence is meant to last, for eventually "dreams are to bright to last". A reality as harsh as this one can plant the fear of ambition in a young heart, and that fear is what drove me to include this poem in my project; to observe fear and hardships in Israel, and to find tools that might aid the heart to eliminate the terror of mortality and develop the skills to preserve it. Edgar Allan Poe describes in his poem the beauty of a reality that was taken away from him. He writes of the flowers, the greens and the sea and ironically presents his ownership of them, even though we know that just a verse later, these gifts will be placed out of his reach. Poe writes of a dyeing dream. Of the gems all taken from this earth; leaving him alone and cast under the spell of a trance, explaining that nothing in this world has the ability to become eternal. This is the reality the poem forces us to apply on our own lives- even the dearest possessions of our hearts are not ours to keep, for eventually even nature is proven mortal: "The seas incapable of flowing, "The trees burnt by the blast of the lightning, "The soar of the eagles muted"- all these examples presented in the poem point out the stupidity of men claiming ownership of possessions, for even everlasting nature- is not everlasting at all. Reading the poem, my own life is reflected before my eyes. My family, my friends, my home and my land- They will all be gone someday, but unlike Poe, I hold on to a delicate strand of hope. I didn't claim that mortality is a tragic, given situation, nor did I attempt to presume that it is a ridicules falsem for everything shall be gone someday, but the comprehension that man is the one influencing the duration of the existence of his possessions could not be avoided either.
It is true that Edgar Allan Poe chose to present situations of loss in which man has no room to interfere, but if all is meant to be taken away from us, then the statement includes possessions that the hands of men may grasp longer than expected. If one accepts that man can sustain belongings of his on this earth, regardless to the fact that someday he will lose the fight and will have to give them up- then the knowledge places a heavy responsibility on man's weary shoulders: Take care of what you hold, for someday you will no longer have access to the belongings you love, and you will be the one that will have to determine how you could hold on to the jewels this life has to offer a little longer.
But how? How can one keep that of which is condemned to be eliminated? How can one preserve what G-d has decided to remove from our reach? It is inevitable that every aspect of life that we observe shall require its own individual treatment, and one of the things I see worthy of cherishing in my life is my nation, the Jewish people and my dear land- Israel? If I would search for a tool that could enable the eternal existence of these cherished valuables- the tool would be love.
If Jews recognized the love they must hold for one another then the Jews will be able to form a mighty unity that will provide love and a place for every Jew on this good earth. If all Jewish people would love the very land our ancestors trailed upon, spreading the truth to the world- If Jews shall crave the very earth they live on, holding on to it and never letting it go then their love will dictate that Israel is not a means but a destination- a goal to be preserved. This shall enable us to maintain the ownership of the Holy Land.
If all Jews understand that the love of the land and the love for one another are commitments we are obligated to fulfill- than we might find ourselves resurrecting ideas that were sentenced to cease. Unfortunately, if we refuse to rekindle the love that finds little room in our frozen hearts, than we might find ourselves living within a nightmare that Edgar Allan Poe presents before us; An existence enslaved to one single reality: "No more, no more, no more".
Creative Connection
In my creative part I decided to express my feelings toward Israel in art. I designed a shirt that gives an idea of my prayers for this country and the decision to use a shirt as the tool to express the idea came because in many ways, shapes and forms, it is a very Israeli thing to do: express an idea or a certain belief through shirts and tops.
I found, reflecting on my project and my own feelings, that in many ways I agree with Rav Pinchas about his view of Israel. Love is the key. Israel has never had it easy and it would seem that its state only gets more difficult as time goes by. It is simple to see that unless we fight for our country, we might lose it and condemn ourselves to a life we have been trying to avoid. A life some Jews still lead. A life that has threatened Jews for over two thousand years. A life without a country, submitted to the anti-Semitic rule of the land we sit on at the time.
Rav Pinchas found love as a tool to keep us together. To unite us and give us power. I see it as a tool to help us maintain and keep the gift we got: the land of Israel. The hand on the shirt expresses the love that is required in order to hold on to our country, and the quote I took from Edgar Allan Poe's poem while transforming the original meaning of the sentence expresses the duty we have toward our country. The duty to hold on to the land. Edgar Allan Poe asked: "Did it all arrive to be overcast?" In my creative part I decided to answer him: No. It didn't arrive to be overcast.
Reflection
When we first got the project I was sure it is just another paper, due on a certain date to a certain teacher and all that is going to be done shall remain on a page before my eyes, read swiftly without a second glance. I never contemplated the project will affect me the way it did. I learned in the process about things I never knew before. I thought of ideas that were executed only in my imagination before this assignment. I was acquainted more closely with concepts I never saw myself get near, and all these experiences have left their marks behind.
Meeting Rav Pinchas gave me the opportunity to know a man who gives of himself freely to all in need because he believes in aiding others. He believes in loving them and in helping them love themselves and others. Rav Pinchas showed me that it is possible to love anyone, no matter how hopelessly disgusting their case may be. He told me about the importance of love and after reviewing the place where he learned these ideas and learning about the man that gave life to these morals upon earth, it was simple to fall in love with the place that teaches people how to find something good in everyone around you.
Learning about Rav Kook showed me how many struggles he went through in order to live his ideas and how important it was to him. Learning about Merkaz Harav showed me how great the power of love is. How necessary it is in order to lead a healthy religious life and how it gives you power to go through hard times that seem to weaken us, if it weren't for the love that makes theses hard times bring us together rather than tear us apart.
After learning about why to love and how to love, I observed Edgar Allan Poe's poem: "To One In Paradise" and learned of what will happen if we let the emotion and affection for others out of our lives. If we let the love go, we shall watch how everything disappears after it; how we might lose our land. Love is the power that might aid us to hold on to Israel regardless to whatever may come.
I expressed my ideas and agreement with the concepts presented in this project through the creative part of this assignment and here I express my surprise at the transformation I feel I have gone through while writing this paper and acquainting myself with these new ideas. I feel I have learned more about love and its importance. About how to achieve it and why. When we first got this project I was sure it is just another paper, due on a certain date to a certain teacher and all that is going to be done shall remain on a page before my eyes. I never contemplated that all that will be done will remain burned into the pages of my soul.
Bibliography
Khurana, Simran, "To One In Paradise", Quotations, 2010
http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/To_One_In_Parad.htm
Kook, Avraham Itzchak, Musar Avicha, Published by Rav Tzvi Kook, 1946
"Merkaz Harav Yeshiva", Wikipedia, 10/04/2010
http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%96_%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%91 (Merkaz Harav Picture)
Mirsky, Yehudah, An Intellectual and Spiritual Biography of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhaq Ha-Cohen Kook from 1865 to 1904, Published by Harvard University, 2007 (Rav Kook Paper)
Raz, Simcha , Angel Among Men: Impressions from the Life of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, Published by Urim Publications 2003 (Rav Kook Paper)
"The Yortzheit Of Rav Kook" ,Kfar Haroeh Yeshive Site, 02/09/2008 http://www.haroe.org.il/news.asp?page=10
(Rav Kook's Picture)
Wadell, Craig, "Chile", MTU Michigan Site, 03/01/2005 http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~jaherric/Chile.html (Chile picture)
Yosef, Idan, "Merkaz Harav Massacre", News1, 06/03/2008
http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/001-D-156249-00.html?tag=16-34-36 (Bloody Sidur Picture)
Zeitlin, Hillel, Sifran shel Yechiim, Published by Mosad Harav Kook, 1979
(Hillel Zeitlin Quote)
Rav Pinchas picture- Copyright by project's author
Creative connection picture- Copyright by project's author